It has become increasingly common to find global positioning system (GPS) navigation systems deployed on various types of vehicles, especially automobiles. A generalized vehicular navigation system includes a display (e.g., liquid crystal display), a user input, a GPS device, and a controller having a memory that stores a library or database of road maps. The navigation system may be removably coupled to the vehicle's dash or windshield (e.g., via a suction cup mount) and contain one or more batteries. Alternatively, the navigation system may be integrated into the vehicle's infrastructure (e.g., mounted within the vehicle's center stack) and draw power from the vehicle's battery.
During operation of the navigation system, the controller generates an image on the display representative of a portion of a road map. This image, referred to herein as a “map view,” may be two-dimensional (e.g., a top-down planform view) or three-dimensional (e.g., a perspective view). The scale of the map view (i.e., the zoom level) may be fixed or adjusted by the user. Similarly, the rotational orientation of the map view may be fixed (e.g., with respect to north or to the vehicle's heading) or adjusted by the user. The map view may include graphics indicating roadways, the vehicle's location and heading, and various points-of-interests (e.g., restaurants, hotels, automated teller machines (ATMs), etc.). In addition, if the navigation system is equipped with a wireless receiver that receives traffic information from a traffic alert service, the generated map view may include graphics indicative of surrounding traffic conditions; e.g., roadways may be color-coded to indicate traffic density or flow, and icons may pinpoint the location of road construction, accidents, and other notable traffic incidents.
A driver may utilize a navigation system of the type described above to view successive stretches of a potential route of travel and assess current traffic conditions along each stretch. If the driver discovers unfavorable traffic conditions along a potential route of travel, he or she may choose an alternative route. In this manner, the driver may effectively bypass congested areas and thereby avoid spending excess time and resources on the road. Despite these advantages, a driver may be dissuaded from utilizing the navigation system to view the traffic conditions along potential routes of travel due to the somewhat cumbersome process of repeatedly adjusting (e.g., scrolling and zooming) the map view to show successive stretches along one or more routes of travel.
There thus exists an on-going need for a navigation system that permits a driver (or other user) to recall a desired preset map view utilizing a simple and intuitive process. Preferably, such a navigation system would also permit a driver to customize the preset map views to include areas frequently traveled by the driver. Other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.